Experience Is the Beauty of It
She didn’t strut down the runway to Bert Parks’ famous rendition of “Here She Comes, Miss America.” She didn’t carry an armload of red roses, and she didn’t anticipate a year traveling the world promoting her crown.
But when a rhinestone tiara was placed over Maria Martinez’s perfectly coiffured brown tresses, she offered the crowd a toothy beauty queen grin, waved a beauty queen wave and proudly displayed her newly awarded Ms. Elegant Orange County satin sash.
In entering her first beauty pageant ever late last year, the green-eyed 52-year-old Martinez of Garden Grove was looking for an ego boost and an adventure--and she happily says she got both.
She also got a trophy as big as her living room and a chance to compete for the Ms. Elegant California title in August.
Once a small offshoot of youth-oriented beauty pageants, there are now scores of so-called “mature” pageants, in which contestants can pay hundreds of dollars to vie for titles such as Mrs. Senior America and Mrs. United Nation. Some of the contests usher local winners into state and national contests; some take their winners no further than a local hotel meeting room, where they compete before an audience of family and friends who have purchased tickets to the event.
The cost of the contests, many of which are organized by the same small circle of pageant entrepreneurs, is covered by sponsorships, entry fees and ticket sales.
Participants and organizers say the contests for mature women cater to those with positive views of themselves and who don’t want to slow down because they are getting older.
Case in point: Martinez. Years ago she was a live model for Frederick’s of Hollywood, and she’s proud of her 5-foot-4, 125-pound figure.
Martinez says her decision to enter the Ms. Elegant pageant last year had nothing to do with a deep-seated, never realized dream of being Miss America, and everything to do with having a positive self-image.
“I hated Miss America. I thought they were all phony baloneys. I thought the judges should see them in their play clothes. But now I work out, run three times a week and lift light weights,” says Martinez, a hypnotist by profession. “I had a client who was ready to give up her title, and she asked me to participate. She thought I’d be great. I hadn’t done anything for years and years, but I thought, what do I have to lose? I have nothing to lose.”
Often, says Elda Barry, an organizer for the annual Mrs. Senior America pageant for women over 60, women enter at the urging of friends or relatives who are proud of them and their appearance and talents.
“Women do this to lift their self-esteem and confidence,” says Barry--who declined to give her age. “Plus it’s lots of fun.”
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In her 10 years of organizing the senior pageant, sponsored by FHP and its parent, PacifiCare, Barry has worked with 400 contestants ranging from 60 to 92. Participants have tap-danced, staged karate exhibitions, read original poetry or shown their handicrafts during the 2-minute, 45-second talent portion of the competition.
Contestants learn about the pageants by word of mouth, advertisements, fliers and specialty magazines. Once a woman has been a pageant participant, she is considered a prime candidate for additional contests and is often recruited.
All pageants seem to require women to compete in evening gowns, but other categories vary. Some include bathing-suit and talent events and interviews with judges.
They all require an entry fee.
Barbara Thomas of San Diego charges $40 to enter her California Gold Coast Beauty Pageants--which offers the Ms. Elegant California title, among others.
Barry, who runs the California contests for Mrs. Senior America from her Huntington Harbour home, says she charges $75 to enter, but so-called “optionals” can significantly boost that cost. Optionals, criticized by some as a way pageants take advantage of contestants, include photographs, videos, hair styling and makeup. They also include fees to enter special pageant categories such as “best eyes” or “prettiest smile.”
“They are a way for people to win additional awards in a pageant,” says Tracy Kemble, who launched the international Mrs. Globe pageant from Newport Beach two years ago. Kemble, the reigning Mrs. Globe, says she organized the pageant to help support her Women in Need foundation.
Kemble advises contestants to research a pageant before signing up.
“Every pageant contestant needs to remember that they’re the client, and they have a right to know where the money goes,” she says. The Mrs. Globe pageant requires a flat $300 entry fee.
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Tracey Colonna of Huntington Beach paid a $150 entry fee to participate in a USA Petites contest but says she ultimately spent more than $500 renting a gown, purchasing shoes and buying a videotape to remember the experience.
Colonna, 33, entered after answering an advertisement for an essay contest. The contest turned into a beauty pageant, and the mother of two says her interest in performing and dancing was piqued.
Martinez says she was talked into entering Gold Coast’s Ms. Valentine pageant in February after being awarded her Ms. Elegant title a few months earlier. She was the first runner-up in the Ms. Valentine pageant and won the best eyes trophy.
“Every time you turn around, you can apply for a different type of pageant,” Martinez says. “They have pageants for everything. I’m too busy to be a pageant junkie, but it is addicting. It’s exciting and euphoric, and you get to dress up like a queen for a day.”
Hazel Dascenzi, 76, was crowned Ms. Elegant California on her 75th birthday last year after vying for the award three years’ running. That was the end of it for the Aliso Viejo Realtor, who says she enjoyed every minute of the competitions but has had enough.
“It can get expensive, but I’m not doing it because it’s not new anymore,” Dascenzi says, adding that she never spent more than $250 on a California Gold Coast pageant.
“You can spend it going to Las Vegas and playing the slots or doing something to boost your self-esteem,” she says.
Charles Dunn, publisher of the industry bible Pageantry Magazine, says pageants offer mature women an unusual life experience and personal achievement.
“The costs can add up, but you don’t have to have a $3,000 prom gown. They can rent one, but most of the women are financially sound enough that they buy something they can use for a social function.”
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Pat Dunlap, owner of a Nite on the Town in Costa Mesa says she has rented dozens of dresses to mature women participating in beauty pageants and has even dressed two Ms. Elegant Orange Counties, a Mrs. America and a Ms. Grandma of Orange County.
Showing off a beaded, blush pink gown worn by one contestant and a Kelly green sparkling number donned by another, Dunlap says she can dress women in $1,000 dresses for $99 to $199.
“This gives them a life experience, which is more important than acquiring stuff,” she says.
Margaret Brown, 63, of Buena Park is participating in the Mrs. Senior America pageant. She will be among 15 contestants--meaning she is among the top five finalists in each of three regional competitions--who will vie for the state crown in July in Irvine. Last year, women from 42 states competed at the national level.
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Brown says she especially enjoys the camaraderie with contestants.
“They are people with a passion for life. It is one of the high points of my life to be able to participate. That’s the thing, not the winning.”
Maintaining that camaraderie was the motivation behind a group known as the Cameo Club, an association open to any woman who has competed in a Mrs. Senior America pageant. Organizer Barry says the club’s membership has the “healthiest old ladies you’ve ever seen.”
A focus on health and appearance--and even a smidgen of self-indulgence--seems to be the tie that binds mature contestants.
“My friends wondered why I wanted to do it,” Brown says. “After I raised my family and after I went through all the taxing times and cultivating of my family, it is my time. You come into your own and really start putting more effort in your own direction. Now it’s time to indulge myself.”